COASTAL EUREKA! The Lapa Rios Ecolodge features rustic oceanfront rooms and likely encounters with Costa Rican wildlife, such as the howler monkey at right.

I call him “My Marine.” My friends call him “Mr. Purple Heart.” That’s because he earned one — serving on the front lines in Iraq.

So when he suggested we go on an adventure vacation in Costa Rica I should have prepared myself for his over-the-top ideas of relaxation: Rappelling off a waterfall. Class IV white-water rafting. Twelve-mile hikes.

Meanwhile, I was the girl who forged notes to get out of gym class. My idea of adventure travel: no BlackBerry cell service. We headed to Costa Rica.

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